Forgive me for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.
Disclaimer – I own nothing, except the plot!
Chapter 26
She stirred and opened her eyes; she narrowed her eyes as the sunlight peered through the closed curtains. She turns her head to check on Draco, but he's gone. He might go somewhere to avoid her, it's a relief then, she doesn't have to face him, it will be easier if he is away from her sight, she will not feel the pain or disappointment every time she sees him. Wait, why should she feel disappointed? Shouldn't she already know about his plans, she should know this will happen sooner or later. This may be because she already feels something to him, she feels that she may have fallen in love with him, but she doesn't know, she has never fallen in love before, that feeling is alien to her.
She got up with a heavy sigh. Her whole body was aching; it was like she had done something that made her muscles tense. Maybe a warm bath would make her feel better.
An hour later she came out of the bathroom feeling a little better. She frowned at the sight of her breakfast already at the table, and only one plate and one glass. Would Draco not have breakfast with her? Not that she complains, but usually though they argue they will have breakfast together. Maybe he went with Blaise and Theodore, she thought as she made her way to the walk-in-closet.
It's lunchtime and lunch has been delivered by Trixie. She hasn't seen Draco since morning and she's getting worried, does he sulk at her? Surely, she should be the one who sulked at him, not the other way around.
Then she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door and found Narcissa. She smiles at her and invites her to enter.
"How do you feel today?" Narcissa asked in a friendly manner.
"Good, even though I felt a little bad this morning," Luna answered. "Have you had your lunch?"
Narcissa nodded gracefully. "Don't worry, I've had my lunch in my room," she replied.
"That's a relief if that so," Luna replied. "The Manor looks very quiet from the usual." She tried to dig up information about Draco's whereabouts.
"Everyone's gone," Narcissa answered. "They left before dawn."
Luna frowned."Where?"
"Does Draco not tell you?" Narcissa asked.
"No," Luna answered quietly. Why didn't he say anything if he was going to leave?
"They went for raids and this is Draco's first raid," Narcissa replied. She was surprised by his son's behavior by not saying anything about his departure. He didn't go for a day or two; he would probably be gone for months.
"What?" Luna was stunned. She felt a strange sensation in her stomach and her chest tightened. Was Draco mad at her so he didn't tell her that he was going to go for a raid; was he really mad at her? He must be offended by what she said yesterday. She has lost her appetite already. "How long will he leave?"
"I'm not sure, but maybe for months. The Dark Lord brought a lot of people," Narcissa answered, silently praying that her husband and son were all right.
Luna suddenly felt weak. He left for months and didn't say anything to her? What if he doesn't come back? What if she doesn't have change to apologize to him? She bit her lower lip, trying to hold back the tears that had been well up in her eyes.
"Draco will come back safely," Narcissa muttered as she saw the look of her pale face. "He'll be all right." At least that's what Narcissa hoped for.
Luna smiled weakly. "Yes, he will." And he must. She can't help but feel worried and feel guilty to him. She should listen to his explanation before she accuses him. After all, it's all out of Bellatrix's mouth and maybe she's not being honest, besides, Bellatrix is just being honest to the Dark Lord. She felt foolish to have trusted Bellatrix. But she wasn't in good state either yesterday.
The days had passed into weeks, weeks passed into months and she never heard from Draco, Narcissa didn't even know about Lucius' news. They really left and had no intention of telling their news. And although Narcissa looks calm, Luna knows that she too feels worried, just as she is worried about Draco. But Narcissa was wearing her mask so well she was seen that she was fine with her husband's departure, but Luna knew better.
She was also worried about Draco. She can't sleep at night and will awake while staring at the door, just in case if he enters through the door safely. She has no appetite for thinking about whether Draco has eaten or not. She will spend a little longer on walk-in-closet while watching his stuff, sometimes she sniffs out his bottle perfume if staring is not enough.
But on the bright side with their departure, especially Bellatrix, she can walk around the Manor if she wants to. She will have tea time with Narcissa every afternoon on the patio with homemade biscuits made by the house elves. She can go visit Dean and Mr. Ollivander without lying to Draco or fearing if Bellatrix caught her. However, she can't go out, Narcissa forbids her from leaving the Manor, so she will spend time painting and reading, trying to distract her mind from Draco for a moment.
And this afternoon, she painted again, she painted the blue sky with fluffy clouds, the air is very good, it will shame if she miss it. She ran her brush like a professional on the canvas carefully. Her dress has been tainted with paint, but she knows that Trixie can remove paint stain on her dress; she really admires Trixie's talent, such a lovely house elf.
"You paint beautifully," Narcissa muttered as she glanced over at her canvas. She is really a talented in painting. She has painted a flower for her in great detail and almost looks real. And she reminds her of her mother, all about her, she gets from her mother. And Narcissa suddenly thinks to tell her that she is her mother's good friend to comfort her. Draco's departure without her permission seems to have made her quite upset.
"Thank you, Mother, My mother is also good in painting too, I inherited her talent," Luna replied with a smile.
"Maybe you want to hear something," Narcissa said.
Luna looked up. "What is that?"
"About your Mother," she replied simply.
"Do you know my Mother?" Her voice turned cheerful.
"I should have told you sooner, but with what happened it was hard to find the right time," Narcissa said regretfully.
"Are you her close friend? Because my Mother always tells about her close friend to me, and how she adores her friend," said Luna.
"Yes, maybe I'm the one your Mother meant." Narcissa smiled weakly. "We've known each other since we were 7 years old and we're getting closer like sisters when we're sorted in the same house and sharing dorms, we never get through a day without each other, people sometimes think we're twins, I'm not surprised, we have the same hair color and bright eyes." Narcissa's mind brought her back many years ago and it made her tears well up.
Luna listens carefully; she has even abandoned her paintings and really put all her attention on Narcissa. A small smile crossed her lips.
"Pandora, she's very smart, as smart as a Ravenclaw, sometimes I wonder why she's sorted into Slytherin. The male student admired her, but she always told me she was interested in other men and she didn't want to tell me who he was, because she said he wasn't a Slytherin and her choice would be questioned by her parents and the people around her. But I love her, I will not insult her because she chose a man that people say is not worthy of her, she knows what is best for her, she knows better than others." A tear drops out of her eyes, and Luna never sees Narcissa cried before, so she took her hand and held it, offering comfort.
"After we graduated from Hogwarts, rumors of her seeing a Gryffindor spread quickly like a virus until finally your Grandparents heard the rumors, she confirmed casually. Your Grandfather went berserk, he even threatened to kill whoever the man was, but she persisted in her stance. Then she runs off, and nobody can find her, people say she's married to the Gryffindor, I don't even know she married Xenophilius Lovegood until I met you." Narcissa smiled weakly and took a breath before continuing ,"I was devastated to know that your Grandfather was disowned her, and it got worse when she couldn't attend my wedding and became a maid of honor as she promised when we were 9." Narcissa looks up and stares at Luna for a while, she really looks a young version of Pandora, but dreamier. "Then, I haven't heard from her since she ran away, your Grandmother died shortly after she ran away due to sorrow, your Grandfather followed three years later. But before he died, he heard the news that Pandora had given birth to a daughter and to fix the family name, he left the entire Malory family's possessions to his Granddaughter, but in one condition, she should married a worthy wizard. He never met you, but he loves you. I was there at the time of his death, and he wondered what his Granddaughter's name was before he finally breathed his final breath."
Luna's tears were flowing. She never thought that the grandparents she always thought didn't want her turn out loving her dearly. She hopes that it is not too late to pray that they will be in a better place with her mother and become a happy family again.
"You made your Grandparents happy by marrying Draco, they're proud of you," Narcissa said softly.
Luna smiled softly. "I wish I could meet them once. Draco says according to Lucius my Grandfather looks scary with coldest blue eyes."
"Rendall Malory does look scary, but he is a loving father and husband, he has a gentle side that is only visible to those who deserve to be treated gently by him," Narcissa agreed.
"Thank you for telling me this story, I can know better about my mother's family which has always been a mystery to me," Luna muttered with delight.
"It's not the end, I still have a lot of stories to tell you, it's about your Mother and Grandparents. I think we should move inside to make it more comfortable," Narcissa offered kindly.
"All right," Luna replied. As they make their way back into the Manor, Luna swears that she saw her mother smiling with tears of joy at seeing her daughter and her best friend. Luna smiles back at her mother and mouthed I love you to her, where she replies lovingly.
After spending most of the day with Narcissa, for the first time she could sleep soundly. She no longer wakes up and checks the door and stares at the door to wait for Draco. At least, when her head made contact with the pillow, she felt a sense of sleepiness coming and she fell asleep in an instant. She doesn't dream anything, but it feels good when she can sleep soundly.
However, her mind was wrong; she woke up in the middle of the night, not because she thought of Draco, but because of a loud knock on the door that made her wonder who it was. The doorknob moves as if someone is trying to open it. She suddenly felt afraid, who's trying to get in?
She ventured to approach the door and put her ear to the door. She heard a man's voice mumbling a spell to open the door, but fortunately, Draco had put a ward so no one could open the door with magic. But she wondered who was behind the door. Luna is a curious person; she can't help herself and wants to open the door.
So she took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, her hand shaking slightly. What if it was the Death Eaters or worse the Dark Lord, a voice in her head shouting at her, but she pushed it away. She yanked the doorknob and was startled by what she saw.
Draco stands there with the help of his father and Blaise, his Death Eater attire looks wet which she assumes is blood. His face was as pale as a ghost, and his hair was a mess, his breathing sounded very heavy, and he was groaning with pain. He's dying.
A/N – What do you think about Narcissa's story? I changed it several times to make it sound real and uncomplicated, and I hope it works.
